Joseph Frederick v. Hess Oil v. I. Corporation, D & M Electric Company, Inc., Third-Party

OPINION OF THE COURT

GIBBONS, Circuit Judge

Joseph Frederick, an employee of D & M Electric Company, Inc. (D & M) was injured in the course of his employment. While de-energizing and removing electric cables at the refinery owned by Hess Oil Virgin Islands Corporation (Hess), he received an electrical shock and fell. D & M was at the time performing services for Hess pursuant to a purchase order. Frederick, although covered by the workmen’s compensation statute of the Virgin Islands, 24 V.I.C. § 251 et seq., sued Hess, charging it with negligent responsibility for his injuries. Like most…